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I had a truly exceptional experience in 2019 at the Alila Villas Uluwatu Bali. I even named it the best Hyatt in the world? Bold claim, I know. But, it was truly exceptional. You can understand my excitement when I read an article by OMAAT a while back about the Alila Hinu Bay, Oman opening in 2021. I’ve been tracking it and stumbled upon the booking page today. Am I missing something here? Will the Alila Hinu Bay be available at category 5 pricing?
First…reservations are open starting May 1st, 2021
Every single date is well over $1k for a standard room
I looked at least 20 days next year and nothing under a grand
The craziest part was this…how it priced for cash + points
This is mega, but I’m not convinced it will stick. I looked at a ton of dates and not a single one would allow me to book with straight up points. Now we know the resort isn’t booked out, so something odd is happening and it could very well be a pricing miscalculation. But…10K + 50% the standard rate is a category 5 rate.
The World of Hyatt cash + points chart:
The other crazy thing… So far, there are only 3 room types – king/two twin: Terrace, Pool Villa, and Pool Villa Deluxe. Am I crazy to think a suite upgrade would be into a pool villa? Can you imagine? Hell a Suite night at a Cat 5 is only 32k points a night. You’d end up in a butler serviced villa with a pool overlooking the beach and Arabian sea.
If this is true…it’ll be the best Hyatt redemption in the world.
Perhaps redemptions entirely with points won’t be allowed. I would have thought this hotel would have come in squarely at category 7, but perhaps with the world economy and tourist industry in shambles, they’re mitigating tourist volume with a cash+points rate that may be more attractive, only to raise it down the line.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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